1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to building construction components and, more particularly, to connectors for anchoring trusses to bearing members such as, for example, girders, beams, walls, etc. in commercial and residential structures.
2. Description of the Invention Background
Trusses are used in the construction of residential and commercial buildings to provide support for decking such as roof sheathing and flooring. The upper and lower portions of the truss are known as the “chords” and the members that extend between the chords are called “webs”.
Traditionally, trusses used in residential structures for were constructed from wood. However, due to the rising costs of lumber and its vulnerability to fire and insect damage, rotting, etc. many homebuilders are now turning to steel as the framing material of choice. Indeed, steel framing materials are rapidly gaining acceptance among homebuilders and homeowners alike due to their cost effectiveness, dimensional stability, noncombustibility, insect resistance, durability, high strength-to-weight ratio and recycleability. These advantages have long been recognized by the commercial construction industry wherein steel has been the material of choice for several decades.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,457,927, entitled “Truss” discloses a truss that is fabricated from cold rolled sheet metal structural members that, among other things, enable the truss to be fabricated with the chord members lying flat on a fabrication table and result in a truss that can be stacked flatwise with a plurality of like-constructed trusses for storage and delivery. FIG. 1 illustrates a portion of a prior truss 10 constructed utilizing an elongated chord 12 of the type and construction disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,457,927. The chord 12 has a web 14 that has first and second lateral faces 15, 16. A top flange 17 extends laterally outwardly from the first face 15. A “reentrant portion” 18 protrudes outward from the second face 16 and is constructed to be supported on a bearing member, girder, I beam, etc. 20.
A reentrant lip 19 is formed on the reentrant portion 18 such that the ends of truss webs 30 may be received between the reentrant lip 19 and the second face 16 of the web 14. The truss webs 30 are commonly formed from studs 32 that each have a web 34 and flanges 36 protruding therefrom. A return 38 is formed on the end of each of the flanges 36 as shown. Another chord 12′ may be attached to the top ends of the webs 30 to form the top chord of the truss 10. The web 34 of each stud 32 is attached to the webs 14, 14′ of the truss chords 12, 12′ by fasteners such as self tapping screws, etc.
In the prior arrangement depicted in FIG. 1, the bottom chord 12 of the truss 10 is supported on the bearing member 20 and attached thereto by a pair of connectors. As can be seen in that Figure, a first C-shaped connector 40 is attached to the flanges 36 of the stud 32. The C-shaped connector 40 has a connector web 40 and a pair of connector flanges 42. The connector flanges 42 are connected to the corresponding stud flanges by a plurality of self tapping screws 43 or the like. After the C-connector 40 is attached to the stud 32 as shown in FIG. 1, a second L-shaped clip 50 is employed to fasten the truss 10 to the bearing member 20. The L-shaped clip 50 has an upper leg 52 that is connected to the web 40 by a plurality of the fastener screws 55 and a lower leg 54 that is attached to the bearing member 20 by a plurality of fastener screws 57.
The above-mentioned connector arrangement has several disadvantages. First, this method of attachment requires two different types of connectors to be inventoried and available at the job site. Second, this method of attachment is more labor intensive because the installer must first attach the first connector 40 to the web, then the L-shaped clip 50 must be attached to the first connector 40 and to the bearing member 20. Third, the fasteners that are employed to attach the first connector 40 to the stud can interfere with the installation of additional truss webs that extend diagonally from the end of the stud to the upper chord 12′.
Thus, as can be appreciated from the forgoing discussion, there is a need for a connector for attaching a truss to a bearing member without the several disadvantages encountered when using prior connector arrangements.